Tumen River
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese:	圖們江
Simplified Chinese:	图们江
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl:	두만강
Hancha:	豆滿江
Manchu name
Manchu:	(Tumen ula)
Mongolian name
Mongolian:	Түмэн гол, Tümen gol
Russian name
Russian:	Туманная река, Tumannaya Reka

Location of the Tumen River

The Tumen or Duman River is a 521 km-long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea, and Russia, rising in Mount Baekdu and flowing into the Sea of Japan. Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. More specifically it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated Manchu is a Tungusic language spoken in Northeast China; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin The Mongolian language (mn [[ImageMonggol kelesvg 17px]] Mongɣol kele, Cyrillic: Монгол хэл Mongol khel) is the best-known member of Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Baekdu Mountain, also known as Changbai Mountain in China, is a volcanic Mountain on the border between China and North Korea The Sea of Japan is a Marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, Korea, North Korea and Russia

The river flows in northeast Asia, on the border between China and North Korea in its upper reaches, and between North Korea and Russia in its last 17 kilometres (11 miles) before entering the Sea of Japan. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The river forms much of the southern border of Jilin Province in Manchuria and the northern borders of North Korea's North Hamgyong and Yanggang provinces. ( Postal map spelling: Kirin; Manchu: Girin ula is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern Manchuria ( Romanized Manchu: Manju,, Маньчжурия Mongolian: Манж is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast North Hamgyŏng ( Hamgyŏng-pukto) is a province of North Korea. Ryanggang ( Ryanggang-do) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China on the north North Hamgyong on the east Baekdu Mountain on the Chinese-North Korean border is the source of the river,^[1] as well as of the Yalu River. Baekdu Mountain, also known as Changbai Mountain in China, is a volcanic Mountain on the border between China and North Korea The Yalu River ( Chinese) or the Amnok River ( Korean) is a River on the border between China and North Korea.

The name of the river comes from the Mongolian word tümen, meaning "ten thousand". The Mongolian language (mn [[ImageMonggol kelesvg 17px]] Mongɣol kele, Cyrillic: Монгол хэл Mongol khel) is the best-known member of Tumen or Tümen ("unit of ten thousand" from Turkic: tümen; Түмэн Tümen) was a part of the decimal system used by Turkic This river is badly polluted by the nearby factories of North Korea and China; however, it still remains a major tourist attraction in the area. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, In Tumen, Jilin, China, a riverfront promenade has restaurants where patrons can gaze across the river into North Korea. Tumen ( Korean: 도문 Domun or 투먼 Tumeon is a County-level city in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture ^[1] Russian name of river is Tumannaya. It means foggy. Fog is a cloud that is in contact with the ground Stratus clouds are usually the only clouds that touch the ground

Important cities on the river are Hoeryong, Namyang and Onsong in North Korea, Tumen and Nanping in China. Hoeryŏng is a city in North Hamgyŏng Province North Korea. It is opposite Jilin Province China, with the Tumen River in between Namyang is a city in northern part of North Korea, and northern portion of the North Hamgyong Province Onsŏng is a county ( ''kun'') in North Hamgyong Province North Korea,located near the border with China. Tumen ( Korean: 도문 Domun or 투먼 Tumeon is a County-level city in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

Refugee crossing

The Tumen has been used for years by North Korean refugees defecting across the Chinese border. Most refugees from North Korea during the 1990s famine crossed over the Tumen River, and most recent refugees have also used it.

Although the Tumen is heavily patrolled by armed guards of the DPRK, the river is considered the preferred way to cross into China because, unlike the swift and deep Yalu River which runs along most of the border between the two countries, the Tumen is shallow and narrow. The Yalu River ( Chinese) or the Amnok River ( Korean) is a River on the border between China and North Korea. ^[1] "It is easily crossed in spots on foot or by swimming," according to a 2006 article in The New York Times. ^[1]

Defectors who wish to cross the Tumen often ignore its pollutants and dangerous border patrol, and spend weeks if not months or years waiting for the perfect opportunity to cross.

"Long, desolate stretches of the [Chinese-North Korean] border are not patrolled at all," according to The New York Times article. ^[1]

Refugees seldom cross the Tumen into Russia because that government patrols its short stretch of the river more actively than China, and the refugees have no large ethnic Korean community in which to hide. ^[1]

Notes